Benefits of Massive Open Online Course Participation: Deductive Thematic Analysis.

Elizabeth R Blum,Per J Palmgren,Terese Stenfors

doi:10.2196/17318

Abstract

BackgroundMassive open online courses (MOOCs), as originally conceived, promised to provide educational access to anyone with an internet connection. However, the expansiveness of MOOC education has been found to be somewhat limited. Nonetheless, leading universities continue to offer MOOCs, including many in the health sciences, on a number of private platforms. Therefore, research on online education must include thorough understanding of the role of MOOCs. To date, studies on MOOC participants have focused mainly on learners’ assessment of the course. It is known that MOOCs are not reaching the universal audiences that were predicted, and much knowledge has been gained about learners’ perceptions of MOOCs. However, there is little scholarship on what learners themselves gain from participating in MOOCs.ObjectiveAs MOOC development persists and expands, scholars and developers should be made aware of the role of MOOCs in education by examining what these courses do offer their participants. The objective of this qualitative synthesis of a set of MOOC evaluation studies was to explore outcomes for MOOC learners, that is, how the learners themselves benefit from participating in MOOCs.MethodsTo explore MOOC learners’ outcomes, we conducted a qualitative synthesis in the form of a deductive thematic analysis, aggregating findings from 17 individual studies selected from an existing systematic review of MOOC evaluation methods. We structured our inquiry using the Kirkpatrick model, considering Kirkpatrick levels 2, 3, and 4 as potential themes in our analysis.ResultsOur analysis identified six types of Kirkpatrick outcomes in 17 studies. Five of these outcomes (learning/general knowledge, skills, attitudes, confidence, and commitment) fit into Kirkpatrick Level 2, while Kirkpatrick Level 3 outcomes concerning behavior/application were seen in four studies. Two additional themes were identified outside of the Kirkpatrick framework: culture and identity outcomes and affective/emotional outcomes. Kirkpatrick Level 4 was not represented among the outcomes we examined.ConclusionsOur findings point to some gains from MOOCs. While we can expect MOOCs to persist, how learners benefit from the experience of participating in MOOCs remains unclear.

Highlights

When the first massive open online course (MOOC) was offered in 2008, the Massive open online courses (MOOCs) format—free, online, and open to anyone with an internet connection—was touted as revolutionary for its potential to democratize access to educational opportunities due to its theoretically universal availability [1,2,3]
J Med Internet Res 2020 | vol 22 | iss. 7 | e17318 | p. 2 performance measures; that is, we explore how learners benefit from the experience of participating in MOOCs, including and beyond outcomes directly related to learning
Our findings point to some gains from MOOCs, and while we can expect MOOCs to persist, how learners benefit from the experience of participating in these courses remains unclear

Summary

Introduction

When the first massive open online course (MOOC) was offered in 2008, the MOOC format—free, online, and open to anyone with an internet connection—was touted as revolutionary for its potential to democratize access to educational opportunities due to its theoretically universal availability [1,2,3]. The earliest MOOCs used a connectivist paradigm in which the course was built from networks of online resources and relied on openness and participation from learners These so-called cMOOCs had the potential to allow learners to participate in their own education outside the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting and to connect with learners worldwide [4]. Objective: As MOOC development persists and expands, scholars and developers should be made aware of the role of MOOCs in education by examining what these courses do offer their participants The objective of this qualitative synthesis of a set of MOOC evaluation studies was to explore outcomes for MOOC learners, that is, how the learners themselves benefit from participating in MOOCs. Methods: To explore MOOC learners’ outcomes, we conducted a qualitative synthesis in the form of a deductive thematic analysis, aggregating findings from 17 individual studies selected from an existing systematic review of MOOC evaluation methods. While we can expect MOOCs to persist, how learners benefit from the experience of participating in MOOCs remains unclear

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Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion